Lifelines
by Tijuana Pirate
Summary: One shot. Yuffie reads a book about palm reading and wants to try out her skill. Unfortunately, the first person she meets is Vincent. (light humour)


Author's note: I suppose that this is sort of my apology for not having posted anything in a long time. I've been so stupidly busy. . . *growls*. I hope to start posting my Tseng fic soon (hopefully with a title!). So, until then, here's a cute, simple story about Yuffie and Vincent.  
Oh, and I just wanted to say that my knowledge of palm reading tends towards the general. If in my ignorance, I caused offence, I apologize because it was not my intention.  
  
~*Lifelines*~  
  
"Oh my gawd! This is *so* cool!"  
Yuffie's enthusiastic yells echoed around the bridge of the Highwind but nobody was really paying attention to her. They were all pretty much used to the teenager's outbursts. Nonplussed by this, Yuffie spun around and continued to talk to essentially no one.  
"I *so* have to try this!" Yuffie held up the book that had been entertaining her for the past half hour, 'Madame Pompadour's Secrets of the Mystic Arts: Palm Reading and Other Oracular Devices'. She had picked it up at a second hand bookstore in Junon when AVALANCHE had set down to get some more supplies there. Afterwards, Yuffie had rushed back to the Highwind, eager to be alone with her book.  
Yuffie eyed the rest of her AVALANCE comrades looking for a likely target. Unfortunately, most of the others were out at the moment. Only Cait Sith and Red XIII remained on the Highwind deck. After cursing the gods and their evil senses of humour, Yuffie decided to head out and see if anyone else had come back yet. She took the steps off deck two at a time.  
  
Yuffie barrelled down the hallway, making a general clamour. Suddenly, she spotted a flash of scarlet. *Excellent*, she thought to herself as she ran up to Vincent Valentine.  
"Hey Vinny!" she yelled. Vincent, who had had his back turned to her, faced Yuffie, nodded slightly, and then turned his back on her again. Yuffie harrumphed loudly. She was tempted to say to Hell with the anti- social vamped out Turkey but then remembered her book. Determined, Yuffie tapped Vincent on his shoulder, hard. Slightly irritated, Vincent turned to look at her again.  
"I said, 'Hey Vinny'." Yuffie said.  
". . . Hello Yuffie." Vincent replied. He started to turn around again but Yuffie snagged his cape. Trapped, Vincent stayed put.  
"Look, Vincent, I need a favour."  
". . ."  
"All right! You're the greatest Vinny!"  
Vincent's eyes widened slightly when he realized that she had taken his silence as an affirmative response. The young ninja reached out and grabbed his hand. Then, she began flipping through the pages of a book, a slight frown playing across her face. Vincent looked down at her, puzzled.  
". . .What are you doing?"  
Yuffie looked up at him and smiled. She showed him the book.  
"I'm gonna tell your fortune!"  
Vincent frowned slightly and Yuffie laughed.  
"Don't worry Vincent, it'll be great!"  
Vincent refused to comment.  
"Here we go!" Yuffie said dramatically, after finding the appropriate page. "Let's do your life line!"  
When she found the long line of Vincent's life, she frowned.  
"Hey, that's weird. . ." She said thoughtfully. "Looks like. . . there's a piece missing." Suddenly, she swallowed and looked up at Vincent's stoic form. She laughed awkwardly and turned back to her book.  
"Okay. . . let's try. . . love life!" Yuffie said in a mock seductive voice, trying to lighten the rapidly tensing mood. When she found the appropriate line though, she swallowed again. There was a fine white scar bisecting it. "Um. . ." Somewhat desperately now, she turned back to her book.  
"How about family life?" It was short. Too short. "Ah. . ."  
Yuffie looked up at Vincent and felt a perfect ass but Vincent didn't say or do anything. He just looked down at her with those impossible crimson eyes. She waited for him to yell at her, hit her, or at least walk away but he didn't do anything. He just stood there, quietly looking at her.  
"Ah. . ." Yuffie said again, looking away.  
Suddenly, Vincent reached forward and took her right hand in his good one.  
"This one," he said quietly, "is for life." He traced the length of her palm with his claw hand so lightly it felt like a small feather was tickling Yuffie's palm.  
"You'll live for a long, long time. You'll marry someone who'll love you for who you are. You'll have two children, one boy and one girl." As he spoke, Vincent followed a delicate tracery across Yuffie's palm, making Yuffie feel a little faint. "They'll both be beautiful children. You'll live in a big house in a place that you'll love. You'll be. . .very happy."  
When Vincent finally let Yuffie's hand fall, she spoke to him breathlessly.  
"Don't you need the book?"  
"No. I just know."  
Then he did turn and walk away from her. For a moment, all Yuffie wanted was for the deck of the Highwind to cave in underneath her. She felt absolutely horrible. All she could see was Vincent's retreating back and it didn't feel right at all.  
"Hey, Vinny!" She said, running after him on impulse. Vincent spun around to meet her.  
"I'm. . ." Yuffie looked down sheepishly again. "I'm sorry."  
"For what?" Vincent asked in that flat monotone of his. Yuffie cringed. For what? For dragging all of his pain up in one, stupid impulsive act. For having a life that, despite a few downfalls, was really one worth living. For. . . for. . . but she couldn't say any of that of course.  
"For. . . because. . . well. . . I. . ." Suddenly her face brightened. "I didn't finish your fortune, Vinny!"  
Vincent gave her a quizzical look but Yuffie missed it because she was searching through her book again. She smiled slightly when she found the necessary page.  
"This one," she said, tracing a long, winding line on his palm, "is for friends. Hmm. . ." she said, doing her best imitation of a carnival palm reader, "it seems that you have lots of 'em. And they're good ones too."  
Yuffie looked up just in time to catch the ghost a smile that showed on Vincent's face. He nodded his head ever so slightly to Yuffie before turning and walking off.  
Yuffie chuckled to herself quietly. Using her index finger, she drew an imaginary one in the air.  
"Score: Yuffie 1, Universe 0."  
Still chuckling, she headed off in the opposite direction. 


End file.
